British Columbia provincial highway 97C
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| Highway 97C |
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| Formed: | 1991 |
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| East end: |  Highway 97 in Peachland |
| Major junctions: |
 BC 5A near Aspen Grove BC 5 in Merritt BC 8 in Merritt BC 97D near Logan Lake BC 1 in Ashcroft |
| West end: | BC 97 near Cache Creek, BC |
| Major cities: | Peachland Merritt Cache Creek |
| System: | British Columbia provincial highways |
British Columbia provincial highway 97C, the Okanagan Connector or Coquihalla Connector, forms part of an important link between the Lower Mainland and the Okanagan valley around Kelowna. It bisects the Coquihalla Highway at Merritt. Highway 97C is a relatively new route, commissioned in 1991.
[edit] Route details
Highway 97C, which is 220 km in total length, begins near Westbank and Peachland, at a location on Highway 97 known as Drought Hill. The section of Highway 97C east of Merritt is mostly freeway, with a speed limit of 110 kilometres per hour, and has very few, if any, exits along its route. Its highest altitude is the Pennask Summit (1728 metres above sea level). Highway 97C travels on this freeway 82 km northwest to Aspen Grove, where it converges with Highway 5A. Much of this converged highway is a four-lane rural arterial highway, though there is a short stretch only two lanes wide. (This two-lane section is currently in the process of being twinned.) Highways 97C and 5A share the 28 km-long route between Aspen Grove and Lower Nicola, where Highway 5A diverges immediately east and Highway 8 begins. 97C was originally intended to have a freeway connection with the toll Coquihalla Highway 5, but this was protested by local residents in Merritt on the grounds that it would take tourists away from the area, and so the freeway remains incomplete to this day.
North of the Highway 8 junction, Highway 97C goes north for 42 km to Logan Lake, then northwest for 57 km to Ashcroft on the Canadian National Railway. Highway 97C then travels 6 km west from Ashcroft to where it converges with Highway 1, which takes Highway 97C north for its final 5 km to its end at Highway 97 in Cache Creek.
For a graph detailing the distance and altitude of the highway between Highway 5A and Highway 97 (via Pennask Summit), follow this link.
[edit] List of exits
The following is a list of exits along the freeway portions of Highway 97C.
Intersection- Highway 5A
Exit- Loon Lake Rd.
Exit- Elkhart Rd.
Exit- Sunset Main Rd.
Exit- Brenda Mine Rd.
Exit- Trepanier Creek Rd. (westbound only)
Exit- Highway 97
At this point the freeway ends and becomes Highway 97, Dobbin Rd. in Kelowna. There is however one more exit on Highway 97 before crossing on the Okanagan Causeway:
Exit- Gellatly Rd. S., Glenrosa Rd.
[edit] British Columbia provincial highway 97D
British Columbia provincial highway 97D, previously known as Meadow Creek Road, is a 24km stretch of road linking Highway 97C in Logan Lake to the Coquihalla Highway. Highway 97D is a new route, receiving its designation in 2005. It allows quicker access between Logan Lake and Kamloops without the need for motorists to go through Merritt when travelling between the two locations.
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Expressways and Freeways of British Columbia
| Highway 1 | Highway 3 | Highway 3A | Highway 5 | Highway 7B | Highway 11 | Highway 16 | Highway 17 | Highway 19 | Highway 91 | Highway 91A | Highway 97 | Highway 97C | Highway 99 |
| British Columbia Provincial Highways |
